|
LOUP D'ALTAIR: 1990-2005
Altair was born in 1990, his father a pure Barb (from North Africa) and his mother a pure Lusitanian (from Portugal). His real name "Loup d'Altair" means: wolf from Altair, Altair being one of the brightest star in the summer sky here. He was given to Viviane as a gift from friends and family when she lost her first horse (his brother) suddenly after light teeth surgery... While their father lived more than 30 years, Viviane lost them both rather young, despite her good care of them. This first horse, Loukid, was a lifelong dream. Viviane had always been fond of horses, but had to wait until she could earn her living... and his, to buy her own. So Viv and Loukid spent 10 happy years together, with her bunch of rider-friends, and he became famous in the villages around because he was a small but brave little horse and won many prizes, taking them away from more powerful horses, just because he had a bigger heart... and he was more clever too! When he passed away, everybody was shocked and felt sorry for his owner. So, all her friends and family, even some she hadn't seen for years, clubbed together and bought his young brother, Altair, who was only three at the time. Like Loukid, he was wild and had never been ridden by anybody before. Also like him, he was full of energy and good will, temper and gentleness melded. Although Viviane said that she didn't want another horse after Loukid, she had no choice; her friends had bought it without asking her if she agreed or not! They knew what she needed, even when she did not. The breeder, moved by all this (she had been working for him for a while before) lowered the price of this second horse, the vet, who had been operating on Loukid when he died of a heart attack, made the first visit for free, and the blacksmith took care of his feet the first time for free too. Such kindness! Viviane fell in love with Altair at first sight and, well, he seemed to like her too. He had been 'punished' because of his free spirit by his first owner and was in need of some love and tenderness. He had broken a fence when he was a colt and he had stayed locked up in a box for 2 years. So, Altair and Viviane both needed each other and he was always thankful to her for having set him free, while she was thankful to him, and of course, to her friends and family, for having been here to lighten her sorrow about the loss of her beloved Loukid, his brother. For that reason, Altair become a symbol of friendship for her. Altair really didn't like men when Viviane first got him. He ran after them while flattening his ears, obviously wanting to bite them. That made all the girls laugh, although the men were not too impressed! Most people were afraid of him because he could get into a very bad mood one minute even if at the next he could be the sweetest of horses... depending on who and when...! But he has always trusted and respected Viviane from the beginning, as much as she did him. Altair never scared her, even when he was playing the very bad guy, particularly when he was younger. She always had this feeling that he wouldn't do any harm to her. He really was a 'macho horse' but he never missed a chance to kiss his girl. One amusing habit he had was to kiss Viviane whenever he wanted sugar or carrots from her, and he very often did that. It was so funny to see. He even used to stop eating his food to kiss her with his mouth full of food - yuk! Unbelievably, just before he was given the final lethal shot, Altair kissed Viviane one last time, as if to thank her for what she was doing for him. Setting him free for the second time.
|
